Capella University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
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- Capella is a for-profit, online-only university owned by Strategic Education
- Capella’s July 2026 prices: FlexPath per 12-week session, GuidedPath per credit
- Graduate students at Capella can’t get Pell; federal loans are the common way to pay
- 32% of Capella’s 2017-18 undergraduate starters earned an award within eight years
- Nursing and counseling are Capella’s largest fields
- Who Capella fits, and the watch-outs
- Check your own aid before you apply to Capella
Capella University’s average net price was $18,458 for 2024-25, and 32% of students who started in 2017-18 earned an award within eight years, according to College Scorecard’s October 15, 2026 release; both figures describe undergraduates. Most Capella students are graduate students (29,395 of 47,761 in fall 2024), and College Navigator puts their average tuition at $15,092 for 2024-25.
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Check your aid before you choose Capella
About two minutes, shown before any email. With a bachelor's already, it shows Pell and state grants as none and gives your federal graduate loan limit. Capella's financial aid office sets your actual offer.
Start the aid checkIf you are paying with your own money this time, the worry is losing it on a program you do not finish. Neither College Scorecard nor College Navigator reports a completion rate for Capella’s master’s or doctoral students, so the outcome figures here are for undergraduates.
Capella, in Minneapolis, is owned by Strategic Education, Inc. Every student was enrolled only in distance education in fall 2024, though some programs add in-person residencies.
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Capella is a for-profit, online-only university owned by Strategic Education
| Fact | Capella |
|---|---|
| Control | Private for-profit |
| Owner | Strategic Education, Inc. (Nasdaq: STRA) |
| Accreditor | Higher Learning Commission (HLC), since 1997 |
| Students studying fully online (fall 2024) | 100% |
| Graduate students (fall 2024) | 29,395, 78% part-time |
| Degree-seeking undergraduates (fall 2024) | 18,364, 68% part-time |
| Undergraduates 25 or older (fall 2023) | 92% |
| Admissions | Open admissions; admission rate Not published |
| Federal school ID (UNITID) | 413413 |
Strayer Education, Inc. was renamed Strategic Education, Inc. in 2018, when its merger with Capella Education Company was finalized. It also owns Strayer University.
Capella’s July 2026 prices: FlexPath per 12-week session, GuidedPath per credit
GuidedPath runs in quarters starting in October, January, April and July and charges by the credit. FlexPath charges one fee per 12-week session, however many courses you finish. Rates are the same in every state.
| Program | FlexPath, per 12-week session | GuidedPath, per credit | Program tuition cap |
|---|---|---|---|
| BS in Business | $2,575 | $415 upper-division, $375 lower-division | None listed |
| BS in Nursing (BSN) | $3,530 | $400 upper-division, $375 lower-division | None listed |
| Master of Business Administration (MBA) | $3,035 | $855 | None listed |
| MS in Psychology | $3,075 | $540 | None listed |
| MS in Clinical Mental Health Counseling | No FlexPath option | $525 | None listed |
| Master of Social Work (MSW) | No FlexPath option | $540 | None listed |
| Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) | $2,985 | $465 | None listed |
| Doctor of Education (EdD) | $3,400 | $805 | $32,000 |
| Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) | $3,480 | $850 | $32,000 |
| Doctor of Business Administration (DBA) | $3,400 | $800, quarter capped at $4,850 | $45,000 |
A resource kit of $125 to $200 per quarter or session is charged on top. The program tuition caps are for eligible new students who start in an eligible month, and Capella says exclusions apply.
In FlexPath you take one or two courses at a time, finish each within 12 weeks and post course activity at least once every 28 days. Transfer credit and credit for prior learning must be done before you start. Federal aid also requires a unique course in each session, a minimum number of program points and good academic standing.
Graduate students at Capella can’t get Pell; federal loans are the common way to pay
A student who already has a bachelor’s degree cannot get Pell, apart from narrow exceptions. Capella says grants are less common at the graduate level and federal loans are a common way to pay. Eligible undergraduates can get Pell, which pays up to $7,395 for 2026-27.
During a federal court’s stay, Federal Student Aid treats MSN, Master of Science in Nursing. A graduate nursing degree, the usual route to advanced roles such as nurse practitioner. and DNP programs as professional degrees, so they can borrow up to $50,000 a year for now, unless Capella sets a lower limit for the program. Our guide to nursing master’s loan limits explains why that may change.
You also can’t borrow more than your cost of attendance minus other aid. Capella’s summer 2026 budget for graduate students adds $3,005 a GuidedPath quarter, or $3,529 a FlexPath session, for food, housing, transportation, loan fees and personal costs on top of tuition.
Capella’s financial aid page still lists Graduate PLUS, so ask its aid office whether the interim exception applies to you. Our guide to how much you can borrow for a master’s explains each limit.
For undergraduates, Scorecard’s average net price was $18,458 for 2024-25, but it rests on 48 full-time, first-time students with federal aid, while 68% of undergraduates studied part-time in fall 2024.
32% of Capella’s 2017-18 undergraduate starters earned an award within eight years
| Measure | Capella |
|---|---|
| Earned an award within 8 years (all undergraduates who started in 2017-18) | 32% |
| Graduated within 6 years (first-time, full-time, fall 2019 cohort) | 18% |
| Median earnings 6 years after starting | $57,593 |
| Median earnings 10 years after starting | $51,254 |
| Graduates’ median earnings 4 years after finishing | $84,333 |
| Graduates’ median federal loan debt | $9,772 |
| Undergraduates with a federal loan (2024-25) | 48% |
To test the payoff for your target job, the degree ROI calculator uses Bureau of Labor Statistics pay data to show your break-even year and 10-year return.
Nursing and counseling are Capella’s largest fields
These are Capella’s five largest fields by awards in 2023-24 (federal CIP categories, not Capella’s program titles), all offered fully online.
| Field and credential | Awards, 2023-24 | Median earnings, 4 yrs after | Median federal debt |
|---|---|---|---|
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (bachelor's) | 7,779 | $97,211 | $6,509 |
| Clinical, Counseling and Applied Psychology (master's) | 1,611 | $66,014 | $36,589 |
| Mental and Social Health Services and Allied Professions (master's) | 1,261 | $59,050 | $58,108 |
| Registered Nursing, Nursing Administration, Nursing Research and Clinical Nursing (master's) | 950 | $117,823 | $17,349 |
| Psychology, General (bachelor's) | 807 | $51,571 | $20,572 |
Earnings are for 2017-18 and 2018-19 finishers; debt for 2022-23 and 2023-24 finishers. The two counseling master’s fields carry the highest debt. Online counseling programs compared sets them against other schools on licensure and outcomes.
Who Capella fits, and the watch-outs
It fits if
- You want a nursing master’s or bachelor’s. Nursing master’s graduates who finished in 2017-18 and 2018-19 earned a median $117,823 four years later; 2022-23 and 2023-24 finishers owed a median $17,349.
- You already know much of the material. In FlexPath, more courses per session means a lower cost per course.
Watch-outs
- Most 2017-18 starters had no Capella award after eight years. That was 68% of undergraduates who started that year.
- Graduate loans have a lower ceiling now. Outside a professional program (MSN and DNP count for now) or the interim exception, federal loans stop at $20,500 a year, and the mental and social health master’s median debt is $58,108.
- FlexPath savings depend on your pace. Capella’s claim of a master’s in 15 months for under $18,000 is based on its fastest 25 percent of students.
- Some programs add residency travel. Capella budgets $2,364 for residencies in several counseling master’s programs for 2026-27.
Check your own aid before you apply to Capella
The aid check applies the federal rules for your start year (2026-27 or 2027-28) to your answers, takes about two minutes and shows the result before any email. With a bachelor’s already, it shows Pell and state grants as none and gives your federal graduate loan limit. Capella’s financial aid office sets your actual offer.
Capella’s FAFSA, Free Application for Federal Student Aid. The free federal form for grants, federal student loans and work-study. Most states and schools use it for their own aid too. school code is 032673; its aid page says offer letters arrive two to four weeks after the FAFSA is complete.
On the same measures, College Scorecard’s October 2026 data puts Western Governors University at a 55% eight-year rate for 2017-18 starters and $12,500 in graduates’ median federal debt, and Walden University at 35% and $20,834.
Degree Sources may refer readers to schools through partners. School matching is optional, comes after your aid result, and is not an application or admission to Capella or any school. The figures here come from federal data and Capella’s own pages, and this profile does not rank schools.
See your aid before you apply to Capella
About two minutes, with the federal rules for your start year. Your result shows before any email; school matching is optional and is not an application to any school.
Start the aid checkWant your finish-line plan by email? Go to the quick check
Sources
Every figure in this guide comes from one of these pages. How we check sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard: Capella University (UNITID 413413)
- College Scorecard data files, October 15, 2026 release
- College Scorecard data dictionary: field definitions and cohort years
- NCES College Navigator: Capella University (enrollment and distance education fall 2024, age fall 2023, accreditation)
- Capella University, Tuition and Fees, July 2026 (tuition chart)
- Capella University, Tuition and Fees (effective July 13, 2026)
- Capella University, FlexPath learning format
- Capella University, Financial Aid
- Capella University, Cost of Attendance Disclosure (summer 2026)
- Capella University, Terms of Use (ownership)
- Strategic Education, Inc., Our history
- StudentAid.gov, One Big Beautiful Bill Act: Important Definitions (graduate loan limits)
- Federal Student Aid, GENERAL-26-42: professional degree programs under the court order (updated July 10, 2026)
- FSA Handbook 2026-27, Volume 7, Chapter 1: Pell Grant student eligibility (bachelor's degree holders)
- Federal Student Aid, 2026-27 Federal Pell Grant maximum and minimum award amounts
Related Resources
Walden University Online: Cost and Outcomes (2026)
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Western Governors University Online: Cost, Outcomes (2026)
WGU tuition was $8,658 for 2024-25 and its average net price $12,548. 52% of students finish within 8 years; graduates owe a median $11,116.
Best Online Counseling and MSW Programs 2026
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